Wayward Youth

Vampire | 158 | Ex-addict

[elizaleventis]

arcadius-gator:

The fires that had danced across his skin had put themselves out just as quickly as they had tried to take Him. His shirt was ruined, falling from the front of him where the back had been burned away. Somehow, his hair had missed the onslaught, caught up in a tight bun at the top of his head, and he didn’t know whether to be grateful or not. 

They were away from the flames though, and Eliza, with her soft pale skin and her brilliant eyes, she was safe. 

“Fuckin’ peachy, ma’am.” 

A dirty, heavy growl of Creole became his tongue then, pulling words from him that he wouldn’t have said before her otherwise. 

He was hurt.  He was hurt because of her and Eliza only added it to the guilt she knew she had to let go of soon.  She didn’t understand most of the words coming out of his mouth, but she guessed they were curses and she bit down on her lip as she looked around them, trying to figure where they could go.  There was a house close by, it’s windows clearly knocked out by the floods the day before, and wrapping her hand around Arcade’s wrist, she guided him towards it.

A brief rap on the door assured her that no one was at home and then they were inside and she was nudging him to take a seat at the kitchen table while she scurried off to find a linen closet.  “Try not to move too much, I need to get something cool on your back!”

Her voice echoed through the rooms, dirt and mud still caked to the floors being the only sign that yesterday was the polar opposite of what was happening right now.  She succeeded and was into the kitchen, running a towel under the spluttering sink.  “This is going to hurt I’m afraid.”

[elizaleventis]

arcadius-gator:

Three years wasn’t that much of a difference, not in the face of the years he had spent with a badge in his pocket and a gun in his hands. He hadn’t been reinstated since leaving Europe, since leaving Louisiana really, but Arcade knew disasters well enough. He knew the sort of stress that public safety forces were left to deal with when hurricanes flooded their streets, left entire quarters underwater and dead floating in the street. Just the same he knew riots, knew fire and panic, knew the taste of civilians fear where it sat heavy on his tongue.

Leaving to help like the vigilante he essentially was seemed to have been a good decision though. Grasping Eliza by her waist, Arcade twisted them both about sharply. He couldn’t apologize for how he jarred her, had no time to be gentle, and instead he tried to throw the vampress away from the flames.

They caught along his bared shoulder blades though, lickes violent and vicious at the skin of his back, and Arcade gave a pained snarl even as he pulled her further away.

“Fuck!”

Eliza hadn’t realised anyone else there, until she felt arms around her waist, flinging her away.  A second of a warmth weight against her and then she  was being dragged away, stumbling to try and stay upright as her footsteps raised clouds of dirt that were sucked up into the flames.  The heat of the air itself was stifling and the fire was sucking up the oxygen, making it hard to breathe.

The sound of a pained scream caused her to wister around, her emerald eyes growing wide when she realised it was Arcade that had grabbed a hold of her and who had flames licking at his back.  It kick started her to act instead of be acted upon and she quickly found her feet, trying to pull him along just as she was her.  Together with their speed they should be able to escape the flames, and indeed she found once she stopped acting as a useless weight the pair started to pull away.

Eliza refused to stop however, until she reached what she thought was a safe place.  Then she turned to the man; her saviour.  “Oh my god, are you okay?!”

[elizaleventis]

The morning had brought with it a break from the rain and when Eliza had risen to silence she expected to look out the window and find Tartarus underwater.  Instead when she took a glimpse outside she found the ground barren and cracked, the pavement giving off waves of heat and the air tainted with smoke.  The vampire furrowed her brows at the latter, for where there was smoke there was usually fire and here she was on the opposite island to her family.

The note she scrawled to let Beth know she was going was barely legible, but Eliza didn’t want to waste time making her writing neat.  Guessing the winter weather was gone she dressed in jeans and a shirt and rushed out of the house as fast as her feet would take her.  The heat hit her like a wall and she let out an involuntary gasp, suddenly wishing she had brought a scarf to tie around her face.

Setting off towards the direction of the bridge to take her to Cyric Eliza began to falter, she wished she had brought water and she had past several fires, realising that the island and its people wouldn’t be getting out of this unscathed.  She had barely made it onto Cyric when she pulled up, realising that this island was even worse than Edden.  It was barren and yet somehow more intense and she realised there was no way she could get stuck over here, nor meet her end.  It was too late though, as she turned to retreat she was met by a wall of flame that had spread in seconds, driven by the wind.  

It was all she could do to let out a scream.

@arcadius-gator

[elizaleventis]

angel-raguel:

“Get into the house. And stay there. All go get the kids from the school.” Beth after all was the guardian to them. If anyone was going to go get them it was going to be her.

Eliza nodded with the woman’s words, taking hold of the front door for the woman who ran the household.  The vampire was far from the youths that usually filled the rooms, but in this instant at least it meant she could be helpful.  “Certainly, I’ll round up those left in the house and get them into one of the safer rooms.  Be careful Beth.”

[elizaleventis]

arcadius-gator:

Tongue catching on his teeth, Arcade stared at her for a long moment, fingers slipping along his fishing pole. Thumb catching on the coil of wire, checking the tension and causing the float to bob in the water below. 

She looked beautiful, with her dark hair spilling over her shoulders and the crisp air carrying her sugar-sweet scent. He didn’t mind, and instead, Arcade swallowed slowly, stumbling over his words. He had stuck in his foot in it last time, only a few days ago, with a sort of embarrassment for things that he couldn’t control burning beneath his skin for the rest of the night. 

“’fraid I can’t be apologizin’ for my hobbies, ma’am.” 

He tipped his head to her instead, hatless in the cool sun, and offered her a smooth smile. 

“No, you shouldn’t apologise for those Arcade,” she agreed, and it was true.  Their last meeting had been a shambles, and Eliza knew that it was due to her overreaction.  Deep down she knew that not everyone was like the demons, least of all this man.  It had been thirty years since she had laid her eyes on any of them, that part of her life was behind her and she just wished segments wouldn’t stil latch onto her like this.

Deciding then that she had to make this at least a little better, to stop the awkward tension and show forgiveness, Eliza approached him.  She stopped a comfortable distance away, not too far to show hesitance, and yet not close enough to enroach.  

“So what have you managed to catch so far?”

[bookofleslie]

[elizaleventis]

nicknames according to booker zywick-shepard;

kai leventis as mab, queen of the fairies | marlowe shepard as wendy darling | lottie shepard as princess tigerlily | josiah sokolov as nibs, the brave lost boy | salem wilson as tootles, the sweet lost boy | augustus leventis as john darling | eliza leventis as tinkerbell | eden shepard as nana | maolmordha o’cruadloch as captain(e) hook(e)

[elizaleventis]

arcadius-gator:

@elizaleventis

The snow had stopped a few days ago, with the temperature rising and the weather turning to rain instead. A soft drizzle or a harsh, steady pour, there had been no end to the fall of it until the previous night. The air had fallen silent, and it had remained such when he had risen a few hours later. He’d found his way to one of the ocean piers that he had seen from the plane, all of the supplies he would need settled at his feet.

Two smoothhound sharks were flopped and locked in the wide, water filled cooler he’d brought with him already, the only things he had to show after three hours of fishing in the early morning darkness. They were good though, well sized and colored, and he would take them. Worn flannel loose around his shoulders, Arcade has swept his hair up into a swift bun that morning, and it had frizzled from the slight downpour that he had stood through an hour ago.

It was quiet here, with the waves lapping at the thick legs of the pier, and he stood in the breeze with a content feeling low in his belly. From the edges of his vision he could see a figure, another passerby on a morning stroll, or maybe someone who intended to join the two elder gentlemen at the other branch of the pier. Regardless, Arcade turned to greet them, and his words died on his tongue for a moment before he cleared his throat.

“Mornin’, Miss Leventis.”

Eliza’s favourite thing to do when it was raining was curl up by a window with a good book or two and alternate between reading and watching the water fall from the sky.  But after several days she was more than ready to put the books away and get back outside.  She had spent too many years under lock and key and it drove her crazy when she was stuck in the same four walls for too long.

Blissfully the day had woken with the sun peeking through and the rain disappearing.  It was just after dawn that Eliza had roused and with a lightened heart she dressed and stepped out into the crisp air.  Despite the Leventis house being open to her at any time, Eliza chose to reside over on Edden due to the lower concentration of demons on the green side.  

Her walk took her down to the seaside in a path that was well worn and almost natural to her.  She had risen later that morning, but it wasn’t unusual for her to come and watch the sunrise.  Letting the rhythm of the waves and sea breeze calm her she was almost at peace as she made her way down the pier, at least until she saw a familiar figure at the end that would have made her heart stop.  Eliza had every intention of trying to slip away, turning around and disappearing before he noticed.  But then it was too late as she heard a greeting.

Taking a deep breath, the vampire raised her chin.  She was a big girl - she had made it through being a prisoner for almost forty years and battled addiction.  She could face an overly polite werewolf.  “Morning Mister Saint Martin.  I should have expected you to be a fisherman as well.”

[elizaleventis]

arcadius-gator:

“Louisiana’s always been home, but since Jay’s gotten her daylight ring, Daddy can’t seem to get her out of the sun.” Speaking around his smile, there was a soft memory on his breath. Of afternoons spent in the blistering bayou sun, with marsh water drying on his skin and his sisters laughter bright in his ears. A dark, ruddy flush against her brown skin, the way that she danced along the dock with him, pulling at him until he had no choice but to follow. “Keep tellin’ her she can’t get no darker, but the girl doesn’t seem to listen.”

Shaking his head at her, he clicked the pen shut, having nothing more to write on the complaint form. There was no reason to stick around, not when he’d been embarrassed himself, not when he’d only managed to agitate her. 

“Nonsense, Miss Leventis. I didn’t expect anythin’ of you just because I thought you should know that you’re beautiful, but I should have kept my peace.”

“Never been any other way ma’am, ladies back home would have tanned my hide if my Daddy didn’t. Never been given a chance to press my luck with a women, and I can’t say I have the nerve most days.” Collecting his hat, Arcade pushing his hair back from his face before catching the fabric comfortably on his head. “You don’t mind, ma’am, I think I best be showing myself out.”

“And your sister’s a vampire too, why am I not surprised?  What a multicultural family,” Eliza mused, she certainly hadn’t come across a family like his before.  “But you wolves don’t understand what a gift that ring is - you don’t realise how much you miss sunlight until you don’t have it.”  As she spoke she looked down at the gold and emerald ring that adorned her right hand.  It was a new one - not the original that Scarlett had gifted her with.  That had been taken by the mob and even if she could have recovered it she wasn’t sure she would have wanted to.  In her mind it had been sullied.

With the word beautiful Eliza would have blushed if she could; as it stood though she took the form from him and placed it in front of her.  She would let Marcel know about the incident before she filed it.

“By the sounds of it I should have visited the South - why is the rest of America not like this?” she questioned, and then she was watching him put his hat back on his head and farewell her.  “Very well.  And Arcade - thank you.  For filling this out and - well, for the kind words.”

[elizaleventis]

arcadius-gator:

“Yes ma’am, Ma finally decided to join the rest of the family. Miss my swamp and my sister something terrible, but I can’t say I blame her.”

Jaw working, Arcade’s fingers clenched around the pen with enough strength that he heard the plastic creak. There was a different sort of flush crawling beneath his beard then, but the heat of it was unlike the spread before. Instead, this burn was the kind that came with remembered shame, from scorned words that pulled at his skin and boxed between his ears, childhood bruises and blood. 

There was nothing but a guarded curiosity in her words, but he could still hear the echoes of a chorus of voices within his ears, feel the scratch of it all along his skin. Arcade smiled at her though, just as smooth as the previous one had been. 

“If you ever find such a lady, I would be delighted to be informed of my supposed prowess. My Daddy gave me better manners than to proposition someone, and I’ve never been much inclined to wet my wick, so to speak.”

“Your sister didn’t come with you?  But yes, I understand missing family and home, I missed them for a long time before coming here,” she sympathised.  Yes, it was difficult missing what you had left behind, but Eliza supposed she was lucky that she got her family back - especially after everything that had happened.

Her elevated senses easily picked up his grip on the pen and immediately Eliza felt bad about everything she had said.  She hadn’t meant to be cruel, or upset him, but she was defensive by nature now.  Too broken and bruised not to react to flattery negatively.  Always in her mind they were after something for their own fulfillment and always she was the one that had gotten hurt and threatened.  Pretty words to her were poison in disguise and it was only a matter of waiting for them to strike.

Biting down on her lip, she tried to push down all of her reactions and let the guilt lead the way.  “I’m sorry Arcade, I never meant any harm.  I haven’t met many men who had such good fathers.”  

[elizaleventis]

arcadius-gator:

“Eleazar? ‘Fraid I’ve never met the man myself, only heard the things Ma’s told me ‘bout him.”

Tilting his head, pen scrawling across the form in slow, sharp cursive letters, Arcade watched her for a long moment before turning his attention back to the forms he’d been given. Standard complaint form, and he ticked a box to state that yes, it had been an agent, then no, he didn’t know if the agent was on duty. 

“Hundred, Miss Leventis. Old enough to some of the chiles I’ve seen ‘round here, but still practically a pup to most.”

“Sort of answer would you like for that, ma’am? Can’t rightly call me a flatterer if I’m just telling you the truth as I see it, now can you?”

“Well, you might get the chance to now, from what I hear his entire clan is on the island.  Which, I presume includes your mother if you’re here?” she quizzed.  Perhaps she herself should approach the Shepards, after all they would have technically been cousins with the way the clans worked, what with the leaders being so close.  It made Eliza wonder for a moment whether she would see more of this man by choice or not.

“A pup, hmm?  I suppose I’m the equivalent myself.  I am older than you though, if not by much in the long run of things.  Nineteen fifteen.  I have to say that wasn’t one of my top decades, but that wasn’t a bad year,” she mused, half to herself and half to him.

“I’m sure many women have fallen for your charming words, sir.  But I am not many women, and I can’t be sure you’re really telling the truth.”

[elizaleventis]

arcadius-gator:

“A Shepard, one of them old clans? I don’t know, ma’am, the clan names always get me caught up on who knows who. I’m a born wolf, pure blood, Ma’am. French family from what my Daddy tells me, but I’ve always known Louisiana as home myself.”

Werewolves were simpler, with alpha’s that he could differentiate by their scents, by the roll of their voices or the number of betas that followed them. Still, he smiled at her, gave a bit of a shrug at the smooth, rolling professionalism that her voice had taken. 

“I met you, Miss Leventis, that seems like a mighty fine reason to want to thank a man, even if its just for knowing your name.”

“Yes, I know of them.  I’ve met Eden before - he is the head I believe?” she said, growing thoughtful as she considered the name.  Eliza had only met him a couple of times, though she was aware that he and her grandfather were close.  

“A French wolf with a Southern accent, charming,” the brunette said, and with a still serious expression she studied him curiously.  “You wolves age, albeit slowly, yes?  How old are you really?”  It may have been a rude question, she wasn’t sure on the etiquette of werewolves - vampires put a lot of emphasis on age, especially when ancients were involved.

Blinking in surprise at his guts, Eliza cleared her throat, louder this time.  “Tell me Mr. Saint Martin, are you always such a flatterer?”

[elizaleventis]

arcadius-gator:

“My Ma, Jael Doubek, she’s a native of Prague. Married into the family here on the island, but we were looking for her family. Horribly cold, an their werewolf population didn’t seem to sure of a little vampire.”

“No, don’t get me wrong, Miss Leventis, I would still appreciate the chance to feed the chile to one of my gators.” For as much as he knew he probably shouldn’t have said that, Arcade couldn’t help the way he felt. He was still frustrated, still humiliated by the brat. Worse, he’d never been grateful for humiliation before, for embarrassment, butt here was something about the curve of her cheek, the soft of her brow. “I jus’ want to give him my thanks as well.”

“You’re mother is a vampire?” Eliza hadn’t heard of that one before.  She had grown aware of interspecies relationships, after all both her maker and aunt were involved with demons - a thought that made her shudder, but she hadn’t come across familial relationships like that.  She wondered how a vampire adopts a werewolf.

Eliza let out a sigh, lacing her fingers together and placing her hands on the desk.  Part of her wanted to smile again, but the bigger part of her, the one that had been conditioned over the past sixty years stayed closed up within her.  “Now Arcade, you can’t go feeding any of our agents to gators, it just won’t do for business.  My boss would be angry, and trust me, you do not want an ancient vampire angry with you,” she urged, hoping to stem the want.  Then she drew off, he mouth snapping shut for a moment.  “You want to thank him?”

[elizaleventis]

arcadius-gator:

“I’ve spent more than a few winters in Prague with my Ma, Miss Leventis. Strong stuff there, coldest winters no swamp man should ever have to face.”

Just like that though, she’d closed off again, with her painted lips pursed and her eyes guarded. She was too pretty to look like that, he found with a start, and he frowned behind the cover of his beard. He wanted to reach out then, smooth the pull from her lips. Instead, Arcade kept to himself, stopped waving his pen at her as he spoke to look reluctantly down at the forms. 

“Arcade ma’am, please. Not to certain I have a problem with the chile anymore, to be honest with you.”

“Ah yes, one of the coldest cities on the planet I believe.  I can’t say I’ve seen much more than a New York winter myself.  But how did a... ‘swamp man’ ever end up in Prague?”

She nodded at his words, of course it made sense.  He had been distracted, his anger had simmered down into nothing.  She knew how it worked - all men seemed to be the same - place a pretty woman in front of them and they’d forget what days of the week were. 

“Well Arcade, I’m glad you don’t want to march down that corridor and have at him anymore, however I still suggest you lodge that complaint and have him reprimanded.  You never know when it could happen again.”

[elizaleventis]

arcadius-gator:

“Wrong season for them I’m afraid, all this snow goes straight to the bone. Never had to deal with any a’this blasted stuff, like seeing my breath or wearing layers.”

He smiled at her though, slow and bashful even if he would never admit it. Free hand smoothing his hair back in its tail, fingertips catching on the end of it, Arcade was too distracted by her to even look back at the form. 

“Then you have a beautiful soul, Miss Leventis.”

“No, you southerners know nothing of harsh winters and the cold,” she agreed, pausing momentarily.  “Not that it affects me much.  But still, I actually quite enjoy wearing all the nice coats.  Must be a female thing.”

Eliza’s eyes grew wide with his words and she felt even more flustered.  The only person to say anything like that to her had been Michael, and she had always had the sinking feeling that was only because he was an angel.  After all, weren’t the beings of Heaven supposed to find the good in people?  

Scrambling to right the papers in front of her, she looked everywhere but him.  “Uh, well, Mister Saint Martin.  If you get that form filled out then we can be sure to rectify any problems you may have with our agent.”

[elizaleventis]

arcadius-gator:

Wide eyed, he nodded slowly, staring at her before his mind caught up. Twenty-five minutes probably wasn’t normal, and he flushed further, looking back down at the complaint form. “I hunt alligator, ma’am, my healing factor’s always been faster than most my kind.”

“Eliza like Eliza Andrews, or Eliza Lucas, ma’am?”

She looked like he’d stolen something from her then, like he’d pulled the soft sound of her name right out from between her lips. He’d toed a line then, somewhere, and he fought the urge to frown.

“Arcadius Saint Martin, ma’am, but most folks call me by Arcade, unless you ever see my Ma.”

“You’re an alligator hunter?  Surely there’s no trade for that here... unless I haven’t been going to the right parts of the island.  I mean, I do try to avoid Cyric when I’m not at work.”

The question he asked made her look back up, simply because she had never expected anything like it.  It wasn’t very often people pulled out history on her, and she was only a young thing really anyway.  “Neither really, but I suppose Eliza Andrews if I have to pick one.”

This time she stayed looking up.  Arcadius - a name of ancient origin by the sounds and yet he clearly couldn’t be that old - wolves never lived that long.  “Ah, we’re going full names are we?  Very well.  Eliza Leventis.”

[elizaleventis]

arcadius-gator:

“Twenty-five minutes, give or take. I’m used to being shot with regular bullets, not tranquilizers, so I apologize that I didn’t pay much attention to the time.”

Turning his head to stare down at the form, he frowned, squinting at the words before clicking the pen. Ticking the first box for complaint, he started to scribble down the words before pausing, looking up at her. Even as the words left him mouth, there was a flush of embarrassment crawling beneath the cover of his beard.

“Honestly ma’am, I would only feel lucky by this point if I knew your name.”

“You were only knocked out for twenty-five minutes?!” Eliza gaped, unable to hide the shock in her voice.  She was always under the impression that tranquilizers were supposed to last a lot longer than that.  What exactly was Sean carrying around?  Quickly though she regained her composure, clearing her throat she glanced down at the papers on her desk instead.

Her eyes widened, but stayed rooted where they were when he spoke again and if she could have blushed she probably would have.  For a moment she debated whether she should give it to him or not, before pursing her lips.  “It’s Eliza.”

[elizaleventis]

arcadius-gator:

“I just wanted to drink my coffee, ma’am, I didn’t even see the chile until after he shot me.” There was a faint whine in his voice, muffled behind his teeth as he watched her sway. Eyes on her face though, the faint curl of her hair, Arcadius kept to himself even when he wanted to reach out to her. 

She seemed too pretty to be a vampire, even if she smelled just as sweet. 

“He shoot people often, or was I just lucky?”

Eliza let out a small sigh, Marcel would not be happy to hear how his employees were abusing their power, if this man was being truthful.  She also wondered when this had all happened - presumably not long ago, as Sean had strode in three quarters of an hour ago from it.  The man seemed unaffected though - but then, she was only a secretary and had no knowledge of what it took to get a werewolf down and out.

“You seem to doing well, all things considering.  How long were you out for?” she quizzed, now curious to know the answer.

“That depends on whether you prefer to be lucky, or not, I guess.”